MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Earlier in the day, several Emirates employees told the RT television channel that the company forced pilots not to call in sick and miscalculated the time that a pilot spent at work.
"Emirates strictly adheres to the state-approved flight time limitations (FTL) scheme. We never compromise safety and always operate within the legal regulatory requirements with regard to flying times, operating hours, and layover times in between flights for our pilots," Tadros replied to RT in an email.
The airline regularly requires all pilots to undergo medical assessments, covering both physical and psychological aspects of their health, as part of their medical renewal process, the company’s public relations manager noted.
"We also have a proactive Fatigue Management and education process. Emirates also encourages open dialogue and has systems in place to facilitate that and in fact we have an open forum for pilots to engage with the management team to voice their concerns," Tadros added.
"Emirates strictly adheres to the state-approved flight time limitations (FTL) scheme. We never compromise safety and always operate within the legal regulatory requirements with regard to flying times, operating hours, and layover times in between flights for our pilots. We regularly require all pilots to undergo medical assessments, covering both physical and psychological aspects, as part of their medical renewal process. We also have a proactive Fatigue Management and education process. Emirates also encourages open dialogue and has systems in place to facilitate that and in fact we have an open forum for pilots to engage with the management team to voice their concerns," the company's press service said.
The pilots’ comments follow the crash of a FlyDubai Boeing 737-800 at Russia’s Rostov-on-Don airport on March 19, in which all 62 people on board died. Following the crash, a former pilot of the low-cost Dubai-based airline, who wished to remain anonymous, told RT that FlyDubai forced pilots who complained about overloaded schedules and fatigue to quit.
